I have no idea ....

....what I am doing at the moment.  It been North Somerset Arts week and I was so busy leading up to it,  that now its on, and all I am doing is waiting around for people to visit,  I have suddenly become exhausted and have realised I was in need a break.  Its been nice not having students for a week.  Don't get me wrong I love my students and I have missed them,  but as they say a change is as good as a rest.  I have loved talking to people about my work for a change, rather than promoting the classes and workshops.  I suppose what I am saying is I have loved being the centre of attention ;-)

 The studio looks great ( even though I say so myself) and its been great exploring how it could be laid out if I didn't have the student tables all the time.

I have also managed to get rid of some old frames.  When I started out I used to pick up frames from charity shops, but as I have made more money, I wanted a more cohesive look and so have slowly replaced them all with black frames and white mounts.  But I had loads of the frames lying around that I had intended to take back to a charity shop.  Instead I put them all out in my large basket and said people could help themselves, but suggested they could put a donation in the RNLI box.  Living by the coast then this is such a worth while charity, so I do all I can to support them.

I have also had a chance to do some pastel drawing.  With people in and out more than normal,  I found it hard to settle to anything major, so these have been great to just pass the time and people are interested in watching .

 The last paintings I did before Arts week were these acrylics,  they are only 20cm x 20cm  but they were fun and I love the colours. As always my obsession with the sea continues.

I have also managed to finish my 'Plop' pencil drawing.  I started it as I wanted to enter something for the Derwent Drawing competition,  but now its finished I am not so sure.  The photo isn't very clear  and I need to scan it in properly but it gives you an idea.

So I am now being asked if i think Arts week has been successful.  Well I  have nothing to compare it to being my first one in this studio,  but I am very pleased,  I have sold a couple of major paintings and a few smaller ones.  Loads of cards and bits and bobs.  Money wise I wanted to make sure I covered what I would have taken if my students had been in and I did that quite comfortably.  At the start I asked Mr WD what he thought would make for a successful week and he set me what I thought was  a very unrealistic target,  but I am only £100 off with 3 days still to go, so maybe it wasn't that unrealistic after all.  But as I believe success shouldn't just be measured by money,  then I would say its been a great week.  lots of people have been introduced to my art work, a lot of people have gone home with a little bit of it , even if its only been in card form.  And we have raised the awareness of the centre.  I would also say its been the best atmosphere there since I joined,  so all in all I am very pleased.

I will catch up with you next week,  I have an exciting weekend ahead of me and I am hoping that I will have some new work to share with you next week....